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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23126317">Force of Nature or Forced Nature?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakenAiko/pseuds/AwakenAiko'>AwakenAiko</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Force of Nature [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Covers sensitive topics, Demons Are Assholes, Dimension Travel, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Occasionally Dark, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Relationships Will Be Revealed Later - Freeform, Science Fiction &amp; Fantasy, let that sink in, mostly angsty, powers, trigger warnings will be added to each chapter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:41:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,697</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23126317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakenAiko/pseuds/AwakenAiko</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the world starts to fall apart around you, what would you do to save the ones you love?</p><p>The lives of six teenagers drastically change as they find themselves in over their heads, and have to learn how to survive in their new world.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Relationships tags will not be added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Force of Nature [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1662340</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/De_Marvel_Bunny/gifts">De_Marvel_Bunny</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/starshinewriter/gifts">starshinewriter</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snitewing/gifts">Snitewing</a>.</li>



    </ul><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Updated 4/20/20.</p><p>______________________________________</p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Blood mention</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was cold. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I could only remember that it was breathtakingly cold. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Does it matter? </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I felt a deep chill creeping through me, sinking down through my skin and all the way down to my bones.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Does it matter? </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I couldn't feel my fingers anymore, I couldn't feel <em> anything </em> anymore.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Does it matter? </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I couldn't see anything around me, and even if I could, <em> would it really help? </em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> No, it wouldn't. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>My skin, my eyes, <em>my</em> <em>heart–</em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Everything was <em> red </em> . <em> Red, red, red. </em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> It doesn't matter. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Each breath seemed to be more and more unwilling to come than the last.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> It doesn't matter. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I could hear the blood rushing in my ears— <em> or was it just around my neck? </em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>It doesn't matter anymore.</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I'm tired.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I'm tired.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I'm tired.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> I'm– </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>It doesn't matter.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1 Episode 1: Black Eclipse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>And so it begins.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A big humongous thanks to De_Marvel_Bunny for being my biggest supporter, encouraging me to write this story when I was unsure about it, and even helping me co-write and beta each chapter. Thank you so much Bunny. ♡</p><p> </p><p>This is an original story written by me and edited by De_marvel_bunny and myself. Chapters will be seperated into "episodes", and the story will be updated frequently as the story goes on. Trigger warnings will be included at the beginning of each 'episode'. </p><p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p><p>___________________________</p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Slight blood mention, missing persons, kidnapping.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I never really saw it coming. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that was my mistake, or maybe it was just inevitable. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a perfect Sunday morning when I woke up on that day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was exactly eight in the morning when beams of sunshine bore through my curtains, dancing lightly across my face and settling directly over my eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I stirred immediately, turning over only to blink passively at my alarm clock in confusion. I couldn't believe it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of all the things I'd been accused of during my life, being a morning person was most definitely not one of them. I never normally woke up before </span>
  <em>
    <span>at least</span>
  </em>
  <span> noon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe I was finally turning over a new leaf.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah, sure.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Today was a perfect day, as perfect as they came.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was beautiful outside my window. I had already done all my chores and homework the night before, my unruly hair was somehow still tame enough to be considered </span>
  <em>
    <span>somewhat</span>
  </em>
  <span> presentable, and I still had plenty of time to eat breakfast before the food was all gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The house was even gloriously quiet for once, without any laughing, squealing, or even Dad's clamoring about to jolt me out of bed prematurely. In fact, there was nothing but silence that greeted me when I stepped out into the hallway.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>That's when I realized.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was never silent in this house. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A perfect day like this was way </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> perfect, impossible even. A day like this couldn't, </span>
  <em>
    <span>shouldn't</span>
  </em>
  <span> exist.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I sneaked a quick peer down the hall from my doorway.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The door leading to my dad's room was wide open, the lights still turned off and the room dark. But to the right, the door to my sister's room— in all its wildly decorated glory, with plastic flowers and peeling stickers in all shades of pinks and purples— was still closed. She was still asleep.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Why wouldn't Dad have woken her up by now?</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Something was wrong.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I shuffled pensively in the hallway for a moment before I decided to check downstairs.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I marched quickly down the stairs, hoping to find Dad cooking breakfast in the kitchen like he did every morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stone tile below me was ice cold, stinging my bare feet with every step I took closer to the silent kitchen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sinking feeling in my gut only grew deeper when I found the small kitchen empty of the usual sweet smells of fresh pancakes and sounds of my baby sister's laughter, instead void of any sign of life.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Something was very </span>
  <b>wrong</b>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dad?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My heartbeat picked up, pounding in my chest as I searched around the house for him. I rushed around the living room, office, anywhere he could possibly be. There was nothing but empty rooms and the chilly air of the house left to find. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn't anywhere to be found. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Panic started to rise in my chest and a sharp ringing followed in my ears. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I didn't understand. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dad was missing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why would he have left?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, he wouldn't just leave out of nowhere, I knew that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would've told me if he was leaving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he wasn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, where did he go?</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe he just went to get some groceries. That had to be it. He was fine.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A swift breeze tickled at my arm as it blew by, making me shiver without my coat on. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I was still standing in the living room.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My heart caught in my throat as I slowly turned around.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The front door to the house was cracked open wide enough to see out into the yard. The thin chain latch was shattered, hanging limply from the door with some of its broken pieces scattered across the floor beneath it. The door knob was in tatters, its metal plates completely crushed in and dangling from the hole in the door, loosely held together by the remaining screws in its frame. The door creaked back and forth loudly with each and every breeze that blew into the house.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A few feet from the broken door laid a small, almost unnoticeable splatter of blood, still bleeding red into the laminate wood.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Dad was </span>
  <em>
    <span>missing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I don't remember just how long I stood there, staring at the door with nothing but a shell-shocked face. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point, the ringing in my ears subsided just enough for me to hear the telltale sound of soft footsteps pitter-pattering down the stairs behind me. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's going on? Why are you yelling?" </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My little sister descended the stairs like a little zombie, yawning softly as she rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I must have woken her up with all my ruckus downstairs, but what was I supposed to tell her?</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Before I had even realized I had opened my mouth,  I had already blurted it out. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"I… Dad's </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span>." </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hand dropped down to her side instantly, her eyes shot open wide and stress lines started settling around her eyes. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>What?</span>
  </em>
  <span> What do you mean he's gone?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"He's </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I think someone took him– I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don't know</span>
  </em>
  <span> where he is."</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are we supposed to </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>She sunk down to the floor at the bottom of the staircase, utter terror overtaking her features as her breaths quickly turned rapid and shallow.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>She was hyperventilating.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I knew I couldn't afford to be scared right now. Even if Dad was gone, she still needed me, and it was my responsibility to take care of her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn't the time to panic.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I took a quick breath. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> aren't doing anything. You are going to stay right there, and I'm just going to go check around the ranch for Dad. Maybe we're just overreacting. I'm sure he's fine, okay? I'll be right back, alright? Don't move."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hiccuped violently, pulling her knees up to her chest and curling in on herself. "Okay, okay."</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I grabbed my coat and pulled it on, stepping out onto the porch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was way too bright outside, easily enough to blind me and decrease anyone's vision, but right then I didn't care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I scoured the perimeter of our house, calling out as loud as I could and listening for any noise, no matter how quiet it was. It almost felt like hours before there was finally only one field left to check.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dad!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Dad, can you hear me?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The hot sun beaming down on me was inevitably starting to take its toll on my body, making me sweat and move sluggishly.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, I heard an ear-piercing scream rip through the air, startling me enough to flinch.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It came in the direction of the house.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>. No, no, no.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Another scream rang out, somehow even louder than before.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The front door was wide open, even though I know I tried to shut it when I left.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I raced back to the house, running as fast as my legs could take me. I couldn't think. The only thought racing through my head was– </span>
  <em>
    <span>my little sister was in trouble, my baby sister needed me–</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I sped up the stairs to the porch and skidded through the doorway.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>In hindsight, I always thought it was hilarious when Dad would go into his appropriately titled </span>
  <em>
    <span>'Papa Bear'</span>
  </em>
  <span> mode, and I would endlessly mock him for doing so, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>now–</span>
  </em>
  <span> now I understood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The scene I found in front of me made my blood </span>
  <em>
    <span>boil</span>
  </em>
  <span> in a way I didn't think physically possible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were two men dressed head-to-toe in nothing but black standing in our living room. Their faces were completely covered with masks so that I couldn't see what they looked like. One of them had wrapped their arm around my sister's small shoulders in a headlock as he pinned her arms behind her, while the other pushed her into a kneeling position on the floor  and held a small switchblade to her neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When I stepped through the doorway, I saw </span>
  <em>
    <span>red</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>But before I could even take another step into the house, an arm wrapped its way around my neck and pulled me back. A big gloved hand grabbed my face and covered my mouth as I tried to scream, to struggle, to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The arm around me just wrapped tighter around my neck, incapacitating me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I couldn't fight them, no matter how hard I tried. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Shh, it's time to go to sleep.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I felt a wet cloth being pressed against my face, and a deep darkness slowly started to creep into the corners of my vision. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>That's a good boy."</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I was so...tired.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing I saw was my sister's terrified eyes staring back at me as she screamed for help before everything faded to black. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 1 Episode 2: A Day of Suffering</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A day of suffering is like a day of joy: it always ends when you least expect it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p><p> </p><p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p><p>_____________________________</p><p> </p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Kidnapping, mentions of death, mentions of torture, blood and injury, side affects of drugs</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> Before I could even take another step into the house, an arm wrapped its way around my neck and pulled me back. A big gloved hand grabbed my face and covered my mouth as I tried to scream, to struggle, to do anything. The arm around me just wrapped tighter around my neck, incapacitating me. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I couldn't fight them, no matter how hard I tried.  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> "Shh, it's time to go to sleep." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> I felt a wet cloth being pressed against my face, and a deep darkness slowly started to creep into the corners of my vision.  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> "That's a good boy." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> I was so...tired. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> The last thing I saw was my sister's terrified eyes staring back at me as she screamed for help before everything faded to black.  </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I knew today was the day I was going to die.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Every time I so much as lightly stirred, sharp flashes of pain instantly rushed over me. My entire body hurt; I couldn't even tell <em> where </em> it hurt anymore.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I could see flickers of light out in the distance, but I could never reach them. I was too far away to ever find the surface, to reach a semblance of home. I was never going to see the light of day again.</p><p> </p><p>I just faded away piece by piece, back into the shadows where I belonged. I closed my eyes once again and fell back into the darkness once again.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>When I finally came to, I found myself in a cold, dark room fully composed of nothing but sterile, gleaming silver metal. A single lightbulb hung from the center of the ceiling, flickering periodically between bathing the small room in low light, just bright enough to barely see my shoes underneath me.</p><p> </p><p>I sat up carefully, trying to dull the pounding headache rattling my skull. Everything around me was blurry, and even the small amount of light I did have only stung my sore eyes further.</p><p> </p><p>Electing to ignore the fading and pulsing of the room around me, I tried to raise a hand to hold my head, only, I realized I couldn't. </p><p> </p><p>My hands were tied down tightly to the arms of an old, wooden chair that I sat in, similar ropes also wrapped around my torso and ankles,  biting into my skin with every subtle shift I made.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I couldn't move an inch. I was in a strange, dangerous place I didn't recognize, with no way out, and I couldn't move even an inch.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I was going to die in here.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I'll never be able to see my dad or sister ever again.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Something wet began trailing down the sides of my face, and a deep ache that I couldn't swallow settled in the back of my throat.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Great. Now I'm crying too, as if that will help anything. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Something abruptly shifted in the corner of the room. There, at the very edge of the light, I could almost make out a bare, ratty mattress haphazardly thrown in the corner of the cold room.</p><p> </p><p>There was a small lump lying in the middle of the mattress, loosely covered up with dark, dingy blankets. The lump moved once again, shifting clumsily around on the musty thing. It seemed to grow more and more agitated as time grew on, its sluggish movements gradually turning sharp and rapid.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I leaned against the back of the splintered chair and pushed my feet against the floor, doing my best to try and shift the chair backwards and farther away from the mattress as quietly as possible.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I would have almost succeeded, had one of the nearly withered legs of the chair not caught on— and scraped against— a chip in the metal floor and groaned loudly.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The lump on the bed stilled almost instantly, quickly crawling away to curl up tightly in the corner of the room.</p><p> </p><p>A harsh cough emitted from the tiny little lump  and the sharp sound of steel chains clanging painfully against the metal floor bounced around the room.</p><p> </p><p>The lump coughed again and sniffed lightly, whimpering, before a couple small, bare feet accidentally stuck out from beneath the blankets.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My breath caught in my chest. "Sis? Is that you?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The small lump didn't answer right away, instead turning over to face me. Even in the darkness surrounding us, it was impossible not to recognize those innocent green eyes I knew so well, as well as the pure fear reflecting in them.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh, thank god. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>At least she was safe.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Are your wrists okay?" I looked her over quickly, immediately noticing each and every small cut and bruise that littered her small body.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>She shook her head, ignoring me. "Where are we?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, she coughed again. "I don't remember anything, what happened?" </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Her breathing started to pick up, coming in faster and shorter bursts as she finally took a look around the room we were in and realized exactly what kind of situation we were in.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Hey, hey, look at me!" I shifted the chair over as close as I could to her, and leaned as forward as the rope around my chest would let me.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"I don't know where we are, but it's going to be alright. Okay? It's going to be just fine. Don't worry." I stared down at her with the most earnest look I could conjure up at the moment.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"I'm scared–" She hiccuped, the tears forming in her eyes pouring over in streams down her face. "I don't want to die!"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"No, hey! Look at me. You aren't going to die, alright? We'll be okay." I tried my best to hold my own tears in, giving her a thin, watery smile.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> No, we won't. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>She sucked in short breaths, trying to calm herself down as her tears continued running their track down her face.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> She knew I was lying. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"What are we going to do now?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I shook my head, "Look, we're going to find a way out of here somehow and go back home, find Dad, and then everything's going to be okay."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> How do you know that? </em>" She sobbed, pulling at the thick handcuffs cutting into her wrists.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> I don't. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I sighed. "I don't, but I do know that you are the strongest little girl I have ever met. Hell, you might even be stronger than me." I chuckled at myself for a second, and looked at her pointedly. "If anyone can get through this, we can. We're family, remember? And what does family do?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>She sniffed, shaking her head as she laughed exasperatedly, "'Family doesn't quit', I know, I know."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"That's right. Now, can you get those chains off?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>She nodded, moving closer to the wall where the chains were anchored. "I can try."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Good, I'll try to loosen up these ropes while you do that. Be quiet, we don't know if someone's  listening."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I turned my attention back to the ropes around my wrists, trying to pull as hard as I could against them to slide the ropes off my hands. </p><p> </p><p>I kept wrenching at the ropes until my wrists inevitably started bleeding profusely from the severe rope burns I was rubbing into my skin with every single tug. </p><p> </p><p>Eventually, my blood soaked the frayed rope enough to finally slide one of my hands out from under it. I yelped loudly, whether it was in pain or relief, I really couldn't remember.</p><p> </p><p>I used my freed hand to make quick work of getting my other wrist undone, and moved down  to my ankles at the feet of the chair and the rope around my chest.</p><p> </p><p>When the last of the ropes finally fell off around me, I limply stumbled down to the floor, barely catching myself on my hands and knees.</p><p> </p><p>The metal floor bit into my knees unmercifully as I tried to crawl over to my sister, even as the room continued to spin around me and I could hear my breath heavy in my own ears.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>By the time I made it over to her, she had already busted one of the rusty pins on the shambled shackles, and had worked one of her wrists out despite the tight fit.</p><p> </p><p>I grabbed the remaining cuff and yanked at the crumbling pin still stuck through the holes. After a few good bangs against the wall, the pin finally crumpled and gave way to open the shackle.</p><p> </p><p>My sister smiled up at me sweetly in thanks, still rubbing at her sore, red wrists. She gasped audibly when she finally got a good look at me up close. "You're <em> bleeding! </em>" She looked up at me worriedly.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I shook my head. "Don't worry about it. It's okay."</p><p> </p><p>Finally trying to push myself up onto my feet, I had to lean heavily against the cold wall to my right, still unable to hold my own weight. My vision was still swimming in my peripheral vision and I couldn't stop my eyes from falling closed any longer.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I was jolted back to attention as soon as I realized my sister was trying to shake me back awake. "...ake up! Come on, get up!"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I blinked at her slowly, my voice heavy with breath. "It's okay, I think I just blacked out for a second. I'm fine now." I tried to gather my bearings before I finally pushed myself off the wall, grabbing her hand and running my hand along the dark wall.</p><p> </p><p>"There's gotta be a door here somewhere, we need to get out of here-" She interrupted me, tugging on my arm and pulling me over to the other side of the dark room.</p><p> </p><p>"Look, here! There's light creeping in from outside." She pressed both of her hands against the outline in the wall, gesturing for me to help her.</p><p> </p><p>I braced my shoulder against the wall and helped her push, hearing the metal squeal and shift until we eventually heard a loud 'click', and a piece of the wall swung open out into a well-lit hallway.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The hallway was unbelievably wide, either direction of the metal hall seeming to extend for <em> miles </em>. We looked up and down the hallway, trying to figure out which turn would lead us back outside.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Suddenly, a large bang rang out, startling the both of us and echoing all the way down the hallway, like the sound of a door being swung open hard enough to hit the wall behind it and put a crack in it. As soon as the echo faded off, I could hear the unmistakable sound of resounding footsteps get louder and louder as they got closer to the two of us.</p><p> </p><p>Quickly mentally steeling myself, I grabbed my sister's wrist tight and took off down the hallway in the opposite direction, turning right down the hall as fast as I could go in the state I was in.</p><p> </p><p>My sister was barely keeping up, still trailing a few steps behind my pace, her long brown hair flowing behind her as she kept looking over her shoulder trying to find the source of the footsteps.</p><p> </p><p>The footsteps only got louder, breaking into a sprint as the sound seemed to come from almost all directions around us.</p><p> </p><p>I ran down three more hallways, each identical to the last, with no idea of where we were or where I was going. I just knew we had to lose whatever– whoever it was chasing us.</p><p> </p><p>I took another left turn at the end of the next hallway and skidded to a complete stop, my sister almost slamming directly into the back of me. Before us was a blank metal wall, the hallway leading directly into a dead end.</p><p> </p><p>The footsteps were closing in more and more by the second, echoing in both of our ears as I turned around and ducked into the other hallway.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p><em> Please just let us get out of this alive </em>.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A fresh wave of dread hit me as I glanced back just in time to see a large shadow wrapping over the walls around us. I tried to run even faster than before, pumping more adrenaline through my veins.</p><p> </p><p>There was another right turn at the end of the hall, and I could finally see bright light pouring into the hall. It was sunlight. I almost cried out in relief as I quickly turned the corner.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Unfortunately for me, I turned the corner just a little too fast, and tripped down the corridor, falling directly forward onto the ground and pulling my little sister down with me.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I couldn't get back up fast enough.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The footsteps caught up with us, and I could feel a large hand wrap around the back of my collar as our chaser yanked me up to eye level and turned me around to face them.</p><p> </p><p>Three men dressed in black stood behind us, each wearing a mask to cover their faces. The one holding me by the collar scoffed and leaned in closer to me, growling.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> You think you're so clever, don't you? </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I could almost sense him smiling murderously behind his mask.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Well, this wasn't going to end well. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He laughed loudly in my face, using his free arm to yank me closer by the shoulder, digging his nails into my arm. "<em> Well, that's alright. I guess I'll just have to teach you a lesson, now won't I? </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My heart leapt into my throat, tears pouring from my eyes for the second time that day. I begged him, shaking my head slowly. "<em> Please don't, please! </em>" I sobbed dejectedly, "What do you want from us?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He only chuckled again, "<em> You'll see. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I winced as his nails drew blood from my arm and he continued to laugh as if someone had just told him the funniest joke. "<em> Maybe I'll take you where we took ol' daddy of yours too, just for kicks. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My eyes widened in terror and I cried even harder.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> They... killed him, didn't they? Dad was dead. We were alone now. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> They're going to kill us too. This...this is how I'm going to die. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>One of the other men almost giggled in glee, walking over to my sister and roughly pulling her up by her arm. She cried out loudly.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> She'll be coming with us too. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"No, <em> don't! </em>" I screamed. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The third man came over to laugh in our faces, using his nails to scratch at my face, just to watch me bleed as I whimpered. He watched joyfully as we were dragged back into the long, dark hallway.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My sister was screaming at the top of her lungs, trying her best to kick and scratch at the man pulling her in any way possible.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Stop it! Let her go! </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I pushed and pulled as hard as I could on the vice-like grip the other man had on my arm as he dragged me down the empty corridor.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>As we reached the end of the hall, there was another break in the path, where the corridor continued to both the left and the right.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The man pulling my sister promptly turned to the right, while the man pulling on my arm continued down the left hallway, almost dislocating my shoulder in his efforts. I screamed out in pain, pulling away from his grasp.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They were separating us.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Me and my sister were on our way straight to hell, and I couldn't even protect her, let alone myself.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Who knows what they were going to do to her.  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> To me. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I screamed as loud as I could for as long as I could, hoping that at least someone would hear me before my voice finally gave out.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The last, horrible thought to cross my mind was a single hope that they would just kill my sister first, so she wouldn't have to suffer, like me.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>It wasn't her fault we were here, it was <em> mine </em>. It wasn't fair. She didn't deserve this.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I wished everything would just <b> <em>stop</em> </b>.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>And then... it did.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>The man had finally stopped dragging me down the hall. His grip hadn't loosened, no, but it felt almost <em> frozen </em>.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I couldn't hear my sister's screams echoing down the hall any longer, even the ringing in my ears had settled down.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I felt almost… </p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Peaceful? </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My body felt like it was being weighed down by something heavy.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My eyelids eventually started to droop shut, and I felt myself fall through the floor beneath me. It felt as if something was cradling me, welcoming me, before everything around me finally faded to black once again.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 1 Episode 3: Welcome to the Downlands</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Where are we now?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another big thanks to De_Marvel_Bunny for her amazing work and support on this. Please show her some love ♡.</p>
<p>This chapter came much later than I expected it to, with all the stuff going on for me right now, but here is an update!</p>
<p>_</p>
<p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p>
<p>_____________________________</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p>
<p> <br/>Nausea/sickness</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>The man had finally stopped dragging me down the hall. His grip hadn't loosened, no, but it felt almost frozen.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I couldn't hear my sister's screams echoing down the hall any longer, even the ringing in my ears had settled down.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I felt almost… </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Peaceful?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My body felt like it was being weighed down by something heavy.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My eyelids eventually started to droop shut, and I felt myself fall through the floor beneath me. It felt as if something was cradling me, welcoming me, before everything around me finally faded to black once again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bright color was the first thing to flood my vision when my eyes finally fluttered open once again, aroused by a stream of bright light shining into my eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>My surroundings soon came into focus around me, revealing the lush, green landscape of a thick, humid forest filled with trees that seemed to be almost miles tall from my position on the forest floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When I had finally managed to push the tempting grasps of unconsciousness to the very back of my mind, I found myself laying on my side in a clearing of soft green grass and moss walled off on all sides by the densely packed trees that only led deeper into the large forest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I tried to sit up to see the area more clearly, only to fall right back onto the ground once again when my skull suddenly started pounding in my head like the church bells ringing at St. Mary's on Sunday mornings.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A wave of nausea instantly raced over me as I rolled back over to my side and shut my eyes tightly, trying not to immediately lose whatever was left in my stomach at that moment; adding sickening vertigo and a ringing in my ears on top of my already skull-splitting headache. My arms and legs felt numb and heavy under my weight, still tingling as if I had recently lost feeling in all my limbs before regaining consciousness. My entire body felt like it was almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>vibrating</span>
  </em>
  <span>, violently exploding with newly found energy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, after it felt like </span>
  <em>
    <span>painfully</span>
  </em>
  <span> long hours had passed of me simply trying to stay conscious as I rode out the misery, the pressure in my head finally subsided, leaving me to gasp for air breathlessly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sweat had plastered my auburn bangs across my warm forehead by the time I had finally managed to regain feeling in my digits and slowly rose up to a sitting position. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The spontaneous symptoms I had now seemed to fade away almost just as fast as they appeared. I could start to feel some type of energy pulsing through my body like I was almost swimming in adrenaline. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I clutched my hands in the dirt to my sides and took a deep breath of fresh air. Somehow, I felt more healthy and sprightly right now than I had ever before in my life. It was the weirdest feeling I had ever experienced.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As I looked down at myself for the first time, I almost jumped when I realized I was no longer wearing the same clothes I was before I got here. My matching set of pajamas had been replaced by a combination of a black t-shirt, a red cuffed flannel overshirt, grey jeans, red and black sneakers, and red and black fingerless gloves. I had never seen these clothes before in my life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Where the hell did this come from?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I continued to sit and stare blankly out into the distance, just trying to process exactly what had happened up until this point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was when I remembered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The events of the previous night came rushing back to mind all at once, leaving me hopelessly off-balance as I uselessly grasped at my head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh god, I almost died.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Where was I? How did I get here?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I quickly stood up and walked deeper into the depth of the clearing to search for any signs of life, or any path I could have arrived by. I stepped a few feet further, turning slowly to look around the clearing and admire the huge jungle trees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I stopped in my tracks when a soft groan reached my ears, coming from behind the foliage to my right and startling me out of my dream-like trance, leading me to run over to find the source of the sound.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When I finally pulled back the thorny brush, I found a body with a full head of light auburn-brown hair collapsed underneath it, hissing at the sudden change in lighting and recoiling, lifting a slender hand to cover their tightly shut eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A familiar, light voice softly rang out, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Daaad</span>
  </em>
  <span>, just five more minutes…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I chuckled quietly and rolled my eyes briefly, gently nudging my sister's shoulder a few times. "Time to get up, sleepyhead. I think we've slept in a little too late this time around."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She only groaned in response, but began to sit up and blink away the sleep in her eyes anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Um... why am I lying in a rose bush?"</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know any more than you do!" She rolled her eyes at that, standing carefully so I could help her out of the bush without her getting scratched on the sharp thorns surrounding us.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took a single glance at the forest around us and sighed exasperatedly, collapsing to the ground in depressed irritation, angry tears sparkling in her eyes. "Great. Where do you think we are, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Oh, let me guess, probably even </span>
  <em>
    <span>farther</span>
  </em>
  <span> from home!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I shook my head at the mini-tantrum my sister was throwing, acquiescing. "I don't know. The last thing I remember is-" I cut myself off before I could choke on my own words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I sat next to her and coughed fleetingly, trying to clear my throat. I rubbed her shoulder as I tried to comfort her before continuing, "Either way, we're definitely a long way from home now." </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>You are very right about that.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>We screamed loudly, jumping to our feet and clinging onto one another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Where the hell did that come from?!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please don't be frightened.</span>
  </em>
  <span>" </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The deafening voice resounded again, seemingly from all directions at once. We screamed again, trying to find the source of the strange voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who the hell are you, and what the hell do you want?" I asked, trying-</span>
  <em>
    <span> and failing miserably - </span>
  </em>
  <span>not to yell, instinctively wrapping my arms around my sister to protect her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>There is no need to worry. I do not exist outside of your minds. I am only a voice made to guide you."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you mean, 'guide' us?" This day was just getting weirder and </span>
  <em>
    <span>weirder</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>You were correct, you are both very far from your home. But, you were not brought here by mistake, nor are you lost. You were both brought here for a reason."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A silence so thick it could be cut with a knife permeated through the clearing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>I believe it is time for me to welcome you to the Downlands.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 1 Episode 4: The World as We Know It</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oh no.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p><p> </p><p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p><p>_____________________________</p><p> </p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Brief mention of murder.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> "Who the hell are you, and what the hell do you want?" I asked, trying- and failing miserably - not to yell, instinctively wrapping my arms around my sister to protect her. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> "There is no need to worry. I do not exist outside of your minds. I am only a voice made to guide you." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> "What do you mean, 'guide' us?" This day was just getting weirder and weirder. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> "You were correct, you are both very far from your home. But, you were not brought here by mistake, nor are you lost. You were both brought here for a reason." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> A silence so thick it could be cut with a knife permeated through the clearing. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> "I believe it is time for me to welcome you to the Downlands." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"The… <em> what? </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> This may come as a shock, but the world that you reside in, as you know it, is not the only one in existence." </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Stiff looks of shell shock crossed over our faces. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em> There's no way that could be true. </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> There exists another dimension, a mirror dimension of Earth, that exists just beside your world: the Downlands. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>My sister sputtered, "I don't understand! How does this place exist? Why were we <em> brought </em> here <em> ? </em>" </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I stayed silent and still, just trying to process what exactly was happening.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> The Downlands is in terrible danger, and so are you. You were brought here, to help. This world is very much alive, even more so than your own. I was created by it and it has made the decision to bring you here.  </em></p><p> </p><p><em> You are here, because you were chosen to save the world. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> What? </em>" I breathed.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Why <em> us? </em>" My sister pleaded with the voice, but I was still frozen in place, unmoving.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> The Downlands have chosen you for this because of what the Shadows of this world have done to you and your family. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Shadows?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> The Shadows </em> – <em> horrifying, demon-like creatures, have been inhabiting the Downlands for decades. They have rid this world of all forms of peace, security, and love. They stomped out any sign of light or life they could find, turned this world's originally beautiful nature into a twisted, rotten sight, and ruled over the chaos and agony they have wreaked for countless years.  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> They have destroyed the Downlands piece by piece, and yet they are still not satisfied." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Recently, the shadows managed to tear through the deep binds separating this dimension from yours and swarmed through it, invading Earth just like they have here. They disguised themselves as regular humans and set out to destroy as many lives as they could.  </em></p><p> </p><p><em> It will not be long before Earth too becomes a barren, rotten wasteland with no life left untouched </em>."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"What are we supposed to do about that?! We're only <em> kids! </em> " My sister was right. <em> How could we possibly fix any of this? </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> The Shadows are the ones responsible for separating your family and taking you from your home. They planned to kill you and your father in cold blood, for no reason other than their own entertainment. The Downlands only want to see an end to the senseless reign of the Shadows and prevent them from hurting anyone else.  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> If you can succeed in doing so, you will each be granted a single wish, which you can then use to return your lives to normal." </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Wait." I started, loosening my grip around my sister ever so slightly. "You mean, we can go home...and forget <em> any </em> of this <em> ever </em> happened?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Correct. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"What- what about our family?" I frantically stumbled over my words. "You said we could go back to normal, right? Can we find our dad again too?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> The Downlands will grant you a wish to fix anything the Shadows may have caused, including the disappearance of your father. Upon using the wish, he should return as if he had never left." </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I turned to my sister, who had opened her mouth to retort once more, "Did you hear that? This could be our only chance to get dad back and go back home! Isn't that what we wanted?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>She looked at me in disbelief. "I-" She looked away, choosing her words carefully. "Of course that's what I want… but, how are we supposed to fix an <em> entire dimension </em>?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"I don't know." I sighed, unable to meet her shining eyes. "But, maybe we should at least try." I paused, adding on, "For dad." She paused for a long time, obviously conflicted, before she finally nodded reluctantly and tried to resolve herself. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>She turned her head back towards the sky to answer the bodiless voice. "O-okay." She gulped. "Okay, we'll do it."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I continued for her, "What do we have to do?"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> You will be provided with the strength and anything else you may need on your journey to protect the Downlands. </em></p><p> </p><p><em>Do not worry, you are not in this world</em> <em>alone.</em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"What do you mean we're <em> not alone? </em>" I couldn't see any sign of life for at least several miles, and the forest had been deathly quiet since we got here; not even a single gust of wind had come to make a sound.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Four others have also been chosen to join and help you along your mission. You will each meet a single partner perfectly suited to you and you will all remain together as a group for the remainder of your journey. These four are the only ones you will be able to trust and depend on in this world. </em>"</p><p> </p><p>"<em> But, there is one more thing that you must know. The Shadows of the Downlands are most dangerous because they are able to hide in plain sight and never be discovered by even the sharpest of eyes. It is impossible to know if you are ever truly alone, or if there is danger lurking around you at all times. </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Then how are we supposed to stop them?! </em>" My sister nearly screamed in desperation.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> Do not worry. The Shadows are only truly dangerous to you if they can find leverage over you.  </em></p><p> </p><p><em> No matter what happens during your journey, you should </em> never <em> reveal any information aloud to anyone at any point, including your names." </em></p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"Well, that's just <em> great! </em> How are we supposed to do that?!" I guffawed abhorrently.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"<em> I'm afraid that is all I can tell you for now. Good luck on your journey. </em>" The voice slowly faded away into a whisper. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"What? No, come back!" My sister begged frantically, ripping herself from my arms and running around the clearing trying to find the faded voice. "<em> Hello? </em> You can't just <em> leave! </em>"</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>I sighed heavily, somehow feeling thoroughly weary and utterly terrified all at once.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>"I guess we're on our own now."</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 1 Episode 5: A New Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's here where we learn who our friends are.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p><p> </p><p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p><p>_____________________________</p><p> </p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Blood and Injury.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>"Do not worry. The Shadows are only truly dangerous to you if they can find leverage over you. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No matter what happens during your journey, you should never reveal any information aloud to anyone at any point, including your names."</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Well, that's just great! How are we supposed to do that?!" I guffawed abhorrently.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I'm afraid that is all I can tell you for now. Good luck on your journey." The voice slowly faded away into a whisper. </span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"What? No, come back!" My sister begged frantically, ripping herself from my arms and running around the clearing trying to find the faded voice. "Hello? You can't just leave!"</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I sighed heavily, somehow feeling thoroughly weary and utterly terrified all at once.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"I guess we're on our own now."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was too hot. The bright sun was beaming down on the forest trees without a cloud in sight. The trees were only absorbing the heat, making the air around us humid and almost unbearably thick.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My sister and I sat in the clearing in utter silence for a long time even after the voice had disappeared from our thoughts, wiped away from our minds almost like we had only ever imagined it in the first place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The grass blanketing the clearing was much cooler in comparison than the rest of the forest, at least giving us </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span> relief from the stifling weather.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My sister sobbed into my shoulder, still holding onto me with such a grip like her life depended on it. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe it did.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I ran my hand up and down her back, my free hand running through her smooth, thick hair as I tried to soothe her. She had fallen silent a long time ago, but she still refused to move from her complacent position underneath my chin. I don't know which was harder for me to do- push down my tears or suppress another irate sigh from being audible- both sounded equally appealing to me at the moment.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>But I couldn't do either.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I sighed internally instead, lightly patting my little sister on the back once more before standing up and plastering a grin across my face. I turned around with a quick huff and reached a hand out for her to take.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Come on. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can get out of this weird place." She took my hand and pulled herself up, unsuccessfully trying to wipe away her tears and pretend they weren't there. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>She crossed her arms around her chest, tightly tucking in her hands in a self-hug. "Where are we going?" As I followed her line of sight, I realized every direction out of the clearing around us looked nearly identical.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I bit my lip painfully, my eye subtly twitching in my irritation.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Would it kill anyone to just place a big, obvious flashing sign with an arrow sometime? Of course not.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I sighed, facepalming for a brief moment. I rolled my eyes, gently placing one of my hands on her back and pushing her ahead of me so I could easily watch out for her. "Let's go this way for now." She huffed at me, clenching her small fists at her sides and pouting until I nudged her forward again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The forest got denser and denser with thick trees as we walked deeper into the forest. The weather was even more unbearable without the opening of the trees above us in the clearing, but somehow, the heat almost felt good on my skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I wasn't sweating like I normally would be on a hot summer day back at home. I knew it was hot in the forest, but the feeling of the sunlight on my skin and the humidity around us started to feel amazing, almost like taking a hot shower on a cold night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I looked over to my sister, finally realizing that her clothes had also changed since we arrived here. Her favorite pair of baby pink pajamas had somehow turned into a black hoodie and satin skirt laid neatly over a pair of dark purple leggings, with a pair of low-heeled black boots to top it off.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She has to be burning up, that sweatshirt must feel stifling.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Aren't you getting too hot in that hoodie?" I grabbed her hand before she could go too far, but she only shook her head at me.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, I feel fine." She shrugged her hand out of my grasp and continued forward into the forest. "Can we get out of here now? This place is starting to give me the creeps." She whined adorably.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, I felt a sharp tingling pain in my hand. When I looked down, my fingers had turned bright red and started twinging like I had just stuck my hand in a cup of freezing water. Her hand had felt like ice in my grasp.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>We continued walking for a few more hours, pressing on further despite how tired we were getting. At this point, my feet were agonizingly aching with each step I took. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So far, this entire quest of ours was utterly </span>
  <em>
    <span>pointless</span>
  </em>
  <span>. We weren't even sure what we were really looking for. The only thing we could really do now was just endlessly search for </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> to help us or guide us somewhere else that we were never going to find. The scenery around us barely changed at all. We hadn't even come across anything other than more trees, and occasionally a few hills dividing the forest into higher and lower levels.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I sighed, trying to swallow down my cynical thoughts and continued the hike up the hills ahead of us.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This definitely isn't the time or place to be cynical. I need to be strong right now, for the both of us.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My wrists still felt as if they were on fire, still just as raw and throbbing from the rope burns I had suffered as before, even as I rubbed at them. That only seemed to make the pain worse, the friction from my gloves rubbing against the sensitive skin only managing to re-irritate it. They started to bleed once again, small red droplets beading from the wounds and running down my wrist until they dropped down into the grass below me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My sister looked over in concern, glancing uneasily at the red streaks dripping down my hands. I waved her off easily, trying to pull down my rolled up sleeves over my hands to hide them from view. I ruffled her chestnut bangs and grinned as she tried to bat my hands away. "It's okay, I'm fin-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A shrill cry suddenly echoed in this distance, sounding only a few meters away from us.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"What was that?!" I turned to look at my sister beside me, as she jumped and grabbed onto my arm in a death grip, cowering into my side. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A group of bushes directly to the right of us began trembling suspiciously and whispers could be heard emitting from it.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"There it is again!" I yanked her entirely behind me, making sure she was pressed tightly against my back, her fingers clutched in my shirt, as I quickly backed away from the brushes.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>A new, unexpected voice spoke up in the distance, getting louder as it got closer, "</span>
  <em>
    <span>See</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that's </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> why I told you to wait for me. Maybe if you had actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>listened-</span>
  </em>
  <span>" A different, younger voice interrupted the first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"How was I supposed to know there was a hill there?" The voice whined loudly, clearly trying to nurse some type of injury.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first voice spoke up again in it's smooth, light German accent, this time rising in volume. "Don't interrupt me! I'm just trying to keep you safe. We don't even know where we are right now, what if you had gotten mauled by a bear or something?! I told you to stay next to me, and you didn't listen, and look what happened! You can't just go </span>
  <em>
    <span>running off</span>
  </em>
  <span> just because you feel like it, A-"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hello? Who's there?" I asked warily, raising my voice and keeping a good distance from the bushes.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The owners of the voices finally peeked out of the bushes, heading in our direction. A head of long, golden blonde hair popped out from behind one of the trees before us, walking carefully through the thorn bushes as a much shorter and younger brunette boy followed closely behind her, still rubbing at a blossoming bruise on his elbow.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who the hell are you, exactly?" A pair of bright green eyes blinked suspiciously at me, pausing several feet away and refusing to move an inch closer, placing her manicured hand to push the boy back towards the bushes, further away from me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was dressed almost oddly, wearing a tied white blouse over her fitted lilac t-shirt. Faded denim shorts sat just above her mix-matched length black mesh leggings, and black heels that seemed far too uncomfortable for walking graced her feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Almost in an opposite nature, the young boy she was shielding behind her wore a simple black hoodie unzipped over a warm cotton grey sweater, accented by his casual black jeans and white and purple converse.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm-" I quickly caught myself before I finished, blinking hard. I tried another approach instead, "Look, I could ask you the same thing!" I retorted. "What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing here?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"How the hell should I know?" She retorted, an irritated snarl curling her lips up. "Maybe you should ask whoever thought it was a good idea to just drop us in the middle of nowhere. I don't know, just an </span>
  <em>
    <span>idea!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Sarcasm was dripping from her tone like a deadly acid just </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiting</span>
  </em>
  <span> to snap at someone.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I shifted uncomfortably and glanced away, unable to handle the strength of her glare burning back at me. "Well, it's not like I know why we're here </span>
  <em>
    <span>either</span>
  </em>
  <span>." I bit back at her with the same viciousness. I was never one to back down from a fight, even ones I didn't start or had any business getting involved with. My dad always told me I was too much of a hothead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I guess old habits die hard.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I nibbled on my bottom lip, turning back to her emerald gaze with even more fire burning behind my hazel one. "We didn't come here looking for any trouble, we don't even want to be here, </span>
  <em>
    <span>period</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So, why don't you just leave us alone?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fury blazed in her eyes. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>You-</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Woah, woah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>wait!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" The little brunette boy beside the girl shouted, pushing her hand off of his chest and walking between the two of us, trying to quell the tensions rising off of us.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"What is wrong with you guys?! Didn't you hear the voice?" When we stared at him blankly, blinking in confusion, he rolled his eyes and huffed loudly. "You know, the creepy, bodiless one; tried to scare us to death when it started talking in our heads; kind of hard to forget?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his head, getting back to his point. "The voice said we were going to meet four other people who we would be our </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends! </span>
  </em>
  <span>We aren't supposed to be biting each other's heads off! We're supposed to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>helping</span>
  </em>
  <span> each other."</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"He's right!" My sister piped up, wrestling out of my tight grip to peer from around me. "We heard about that too." She looked up at me, silently pleading for me to let the issue go. I grunted in response and looked away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She knows I can't refute her puppy dog eyes.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I frowned.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>When I finally looked back up at the blonde, She was glancing over at the boy in front of us before looking down at the ground in shame, kicking the dirt around in her embarrassment at being so spiteful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a long moment of silence, she spoke up in a much kinder tone. "I guess they're right. If we want to get out of this stupid forest, we need to be working together, not arguing. I'm sorry."</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I sighed quietly, stroking the top of my sister's hair. "Look, I'm sorry too. It's just… It's been a long few hours."</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded, clearing her throat.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, now that that's over with, I guess we should introduce ourselves." Looking up at me for permission first, my sister walked over to the brunette boy, and extended a hand between them with a watery smile gracing her freckled face. "Nice to meet you, I'm-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I cut her off immediately, wrapping my hand around her mouth and shaking my head. "What are you doing?" I whispered loudly next to her ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pushed me away, pursing her lips irately. She hated admitting I was right, although I normally was. "Well, we have to call each other </span>
  <em>
    <span>something!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" She whisper-yelled back to me.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The blonde girl piped up, clearly eavesdropping on our not-at-all quiet conversation. "What if we used fake names? That way we could call each other something, without any problems." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I pondered it for a moment, before nodding. It was the best alternative at the moment, and at least it would make things </span>
  <em>
    <span>slightly</span>
  </em>
  <span> easier.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"Any ideas?"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>My sister tapped a finger on her chin, thinking of a good name to use. Finally, a lightbulb went off in her head and she grinned sweetly. "Oh, what about 'Abbie'? I think that's a good name, don't you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I smiled back at her, my eyes crinkling at the edges. "I think that's a great name." </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It suits her perfectly</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The brunette boy piped up next to her, snapping his fingers in satisfaction. "I like 'Alex'."</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The blonde walked up behind him, closing off the small circle we had formed. "You can call me… 'Emma'. I think that's a good one."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone turned to stare over at me next, awaiting my answer. I blinked blankly back at them, unsure what to say. I thought long and hard for a name that would suit me, before a thought popped in my head about an old tale I had heard once as a child. My lip twitched briefly as I finally settled on the perfect name. I coughed briefly to clear my throat, and answered. "'Kai.' You can call me 'Kai.'"</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew my life wouldn't be the same after today.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 1 Episode 6: Trust Fall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Time to make some friends, guys.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p><p> </p><p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p><p>_____________________________</p><p> </p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Mention of death, landslide/avalanche, near-death experience, (situational) starvation, and blood and injury.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My sister tapped a finger on her chin, thinking of a good name to use. Finally, a lightbulb went off in her head and she grinned sweetly. "Oh, what about 'Abbie'? I think that's a good name, don't you?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I smiled back at her, my eyes crinkling at the edges. "I think that's a great name." </span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It suits her perfectly.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The brunette boy piped up next to her, snapping his fingers in satisfaction. "I like 'Alex'."</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The blonde walked up behind him, closing off the small circle we had formed. "You can call me… 'Emma'. I think that's a good one."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Everyone turned to stare over at me next, awaiting my answer. I blinked blankly back at them, unsure what to say. I thought long and hard for a name that would suit me, before a thought popped in my head about an old tale I had heard once as a child. My lip twitched briefly as I finally settled on the perfect name. I coughed briefly to clear my throat, and answered. "'Kai.' You can call me 'Kai.'"</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew my life wouldn't be the same after today.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm so...</span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span>." </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I rolled my eyes to myself, shaking my head and ignoring her whining.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We're all tired.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The four of us had been walking for several hours already. After our very short acquaintance, we all voted to continue trekking through the forest, this time as a group. Sitting in one place certainly wasn't going to help us; but, then again, maybe trudging along non-stop without any sense of direction wasn't either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We had all been hiking up a large hill together for at least the last half hour, blatantly trying our best to disregard our obvious pain and discomfort from walking around all morning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was clearly starting to weigh on everyone, especially Emma, who was wilting like a pretty flower under the hot touch of the sun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It feels like we've been walking around for </span>
  <em>
    <span>forever</span>
  </em>
  <span> already. I'm still not convinced we haven't just been walking in circles this entire time." She groaned lightly, sounding utterly exhausted.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"So...did you guys really hear the voice too?" My sister asked curiously, naturally ignoring her outburst.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh, you mean the ridiculously loud one in our heads going on and on about alternate dimensions and, what, demons? Yeah, I think so." Alex rolled his eyes sarcastically, continuing on ahead in front of the rest of our small group.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"It- it said we could get our Dad back, but only if we could fix whatever it is it wants us to fix. Do you really think it was telling the truth?" My head snapped over to her, ready to scold her for being too open and trusting with strangers we've barely even known for a few hours, but the brunette boy spoke up again.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know, it all sounds pretty far-fetched to me, but I don't think it really gave us any other choice. We're kind of stuck here now." He shrugged nonchalantly, not even bothering to look back at us.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Emma turned to look at me, leaning in closer to my ear and dropping her voice to an almost-whisper so the younger kids couldn't hear her. "I don't really think it's really sunk in yet for them. If that thing, whatever it was, was really telling us the truth… well, a couple of teenagers and some kids aren't exactly "savior" material." She paused, looking me dead in the eyes. Her soft features quickly took on a dark expression, her tone striking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We're never going to make it out of here alive, are we?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I couldn't give her a direct answer, not really. I tried to fake a small chuckle, unsurely. "Don't say that. I mean, we were all dragged here for some kind of reason, right? They didn't just pick us for no reason. We have to make it out of here." I flashed her one of my most practiced fake smiles and turned my attention back to the path ahead of us.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She remained staring at me for a short while, seeming to look for something unknown in my expression. She must have found what she was looking for at some point, because she glanced away not long after that.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>We continued trudging forward for </span>
  <em>
    <span>miles</span>
  </em>
  <span> with no end in sight— even though we weren't quite sure where we were or </span>
  <em>
    <span>even </span>
  </em>
  <span>where we were going— and the beaming sun above our heads just got lower and lower in the sky. Without a single break or a scrap of food along the way, we were all way past tired; exhausted, even.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glancing over to my left, I finally noticed that the blonde girl beside me was limping heavily in her black heels, placing way too much of her weight over on her right leg.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A quick search of her revealed a small rip in the left knee of her black leggings, revealing her bruised and skinned knee which was lightly bleeding down her leg. She was clearly trying to ignore the pain and keep moving, but from the sight of the pinched look on her pale, round face and her gritted teeth, it was clear that the long distance was quickly starting to wear on her resolve.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Was that there the whole time?</span>
  </em>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I grimaced at the sight of it, moving over closer to grab her arm and lay it across my shoulders before wrapping my free arm around her other side, taking some of the weight off of her injured leg.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gasped and stared at me in shock for a split second, before giving me a genuine, grateful smile and continuing walking with my extra support.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, the sky became streaked with beautiful hues of oranges and pinks as the sun slowly began its descent into the horizon. It was going to get dark soon, and we were nowhere closer to finding an exit out of the forest than we were this morning. I sighed, and we all unanimously agreed to stop and set up a makeshift camp for the night until we could try and continue searching in the morning. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>It was easy for the four of us to find enough firewood to start a fire for all of us to huddle around—for obvious reasons— but we were all beginning to feel the horrible, echoing pang of hunger in our guts without any food in sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>My sister sat curled into my side, laying her head on my shoulder as I wrapped both my arms around her, trying to keep us both warm. Nothing but silence waded through the air around us, our current predicament heavy on everyone's minds. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time the sky had fully faded into darkness, that was only illuminated by the bright light of the moon high in the sky, the pain of our hunger had finally become too much for us to handle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Deciding to leave the younger kids to stay warm and safe by the fire, Emma and I walked deeper out into the forest to search for anything edible we could find. We searched high and low through all the trees and shrubs, but found nothing but empty leaves and branches. It really did seem like all the life in this place was snuffed out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The light of the campfire in the distance was getting farther and farther away from us as we searched more trees further away from the campsite. The blonde walking beside me was still limping lightly, but it had clearly improved significantly already. Soon, she pointed at something in the near distance. "Hey, look over there!" I turned to stare at the area she was pointing at, trying to see what she noticed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>We had reached the apex of a small hill that dropped down into a deep, dark valley. Growing at the very edge of the hill, we could finally see a few small, spiky plants with what looked like pineapples attached to them. The blonde squealed in excitement, racing over to inspect the plants and I wasn't far behind her. The plants had several ripe, fresh pineapples attached to their stocks, ready to pick and take back with us. I beamed for the first time all day; this was more than enough food for all of us to eat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Emma grinned cheerifully, picking a few of the pineapples from the plants before wincing at all the sharp thorns pricking her arms when she held them. "Be careful!" I hissed, laughing at her. She sent me a weak glare and stuck her tongue out at me before she turned her focus back to the plants, stepping closer to the edge of the hill.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, a large crack sounded from down below her feet, the ground shuddering and splintering, forming cracks in the mossy dirt and giving way to the gravity pulling down on it. The hill split in two, the edge of the mound collapsing down into the valley below and pulling Emma down with it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She let out a piercing scream as she powerlessly disappeared beneath the ground level, an avalanche of dirt burying her head when the full force of the landslide swept over her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Emma!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Not surprisingly at all, the edge of the hill didn’t just lead into a small valley below. No, the ‘valley’ wasn’t even a valley at all. The peak of the hill- the same one Emma was now plummeting down at over sixty-five kilometers per hour- didn’t drop into a clearing, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>ended in a sharp, steep drop down to the edge of a cliff.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I quickly jumped into action: swinging my legs over the side of the now crumbled remains of the hill, and dropping into the slant, I started sliding down the side of the mountain. Emma was still violently struggling against the force of the wave, which only made her fall faster towards the edge of the cliff. The soil surrounding her spilled over the edge like sand falling through someone’s hands, kicking up a large cloud of dust and blinding her further. She collapsed under all the pressure and the force of the wave finally mercilessly shoved her light weight over the edge. In a last ditch effort, her right arm sprang out above her head and caught the edge with the very end of her fingers, using the last of her strength to hold herself up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I pushed myself up to my feet, balancing cautiously on the nearly vertical drop, and rushed down to the edge of the cliff, dropping to my knees before her. The cliff overlooked a deep ravine, dropping straight down into a roaring riverbed filled with nothing but sharp, broken rocks poking up and out of the rapids.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I winced instinctively. </span>
  <em>
    <span>There’s no way either of us would survive a fall like that.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I crawled closer to the edge to peer over the side of the cliff, finally catching sight of the other teen dangling off of it. Her arm was being pulled into a very unnatural angle, traces of purple forming around her shoulder, and her eyes were shut tightly– in either pain or fear– maybe both. Digging my fingers into the ground, I laid over the edge and reached my other arm down to her.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just hold on, okay!” I shouted loudly, trying to yell over the noise of the continuing avalanche around us. I pushed myself even closer, until I was completely leaning over the edge. “Just grab my hand and don’t look down! I’ve got you, I promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She squinted up at me with a pained, doubtful grimace etched into her normally smooth features, looking for any semblance of dishonesty peaking through my expression. With the best reassuring look I could muster up in our predicament, I faintly smiled down at her. She must have recognized the sincerity behind it, because her eyes softened, staring up into mine with warmth and – for the first time– trust. She grabbed on tightly to my outstretched hand with her free arm and my fingers finally closed securely around her wrist. I dug my feet into the ground and tugged her up and over the edge of the cliff with all the strength I had. She swung a leg over the side of the cliff, pushing herself up away from the edge, and collapsed on her side next to me as I laid back on the grass. Heaving air in shallow breaths, Emma turned to me with a look of disbelief shining behind her emerald gaze.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“You-” She stuttered. “You just saved my life.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I huffed loudly, staring back at her with the same amount of perplexity. “Of course I did, I couldn’t just let you die, bampot.” I sat up slowly, batting the dirt residue off of my face, and smirked in her direction. “My sister would’ve tried to kill me in my sleep if I didn’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She laughed breathlessly, flopping back onto her back in mirth, lightly holding her bruised shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>I smiled tiredly, offering her a hand up to her feet, and after she took it, I helped guide her all the way back up to the hill. She paused for a short minute, glancing over her shoulder at the ravine behind us, before turning back to face me. She frowned briefly, giving the slightest of nods at me before speaking. “Thank you, for...that.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>I grinned. “Anytime.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 1 Episode 7: The Start of It All Part I</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Welcome to the end...of chapter 1!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay...so, um... I lied. This isn't the last episode of chapter 1, but in my defense the chapter ended up being over 5,000 words long, so I decided to split it up into two parts, and upload both at the same time! Sorry about that 😅.</p>
<p>______________________________</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p>
<p>_____________________________</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mention of death and injury, nightmares, (imaginary) near-death scene, panic attacks, light self-loathing, and natural disasters.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“You-” She stuttered. “You just saved my life.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I huffed loudly, staring back at her with the same amount of perplexity. “Of course I did, I couldn’t just let you die, bampot.” I sat up slowly, batting the dirt residue off of my face, and smirked in her direction. “My sister would’ve tried to kill me in my sleep if I didn’t.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She laughed breathlessly, flopping back onto her back in mirth, lightly holding her bruised shoulder.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I smiled tiredly, offering her a hand up to her feet, and after she took it, I helped guide her all the way back up to the hill. She paused for a short minute, glancing over her shoulder at the ravine behind us, before turning back to face me. She frowned briefly, giving the slightest of nods at me before speaking. “Thank you, for...that.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I grinned. “Anytime.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world went dark as soon as I opened my eyes. The deep depths of the sky were rapidly darkened into a midnight black before being overcast by a shadow of almost apocalyptic crimson spreading out from the edge of the atmosphere in the distance. The unnaturally shaped clouds above were bleeding maroon from every angle possible, and in the middle of it all, a heart-stopping blood-flooded sun was ominously rising from behind its hiding spot under the horizon overlooking a cliff.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A thick wave of scalding heat rushed over the mountaintop; the full, unforgiving extent of the red sun’s power burning through every plant, every animal, every drop of water– any semblance of life– until nothing was left. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I felt so out of place, disconcerted and inconsiderate walking among the only survivors of the sterilization– burnt, withered trees, and scourched, bare rocks– being the only living thing left to remain unscathed. The world was </span>
  <em>
    <span>reeling</span>
  </em>
  <span> around me from all the destruction wreaking havoc on its shores, but no matter how much it screamed in my ears, I still stood unbothered by it all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell is going on?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The edge of the large, angled cliff was just in front of me now, but the atmosphere only seemed to get more and more disturbing with every step closer. At the very top of the hill, there was a single dark figure standing above it all, witnessing the major slaughter with glee, fully enveloped in the show playing out around us.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The winds started to pick up above the mountain, sharp gales slicing through my skin and forcing me down to the ground. The ground below me opened up like a sinkhole, crumbling away where hairline fractures began cracking through the smooth rock. The earth rumbled like an enraged growl, and the dirt caved in like a mouth opening to shout in agony. Bright, glowing gold pulsed up from the hole that formed, bubbling and rising until it poured over onto the already singed ground. The magma didn’t even bother to slow long enough to cool into lava; the golden heat only seemed to burn even brighter as it began rolling down the cliff directly towards me. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I cried out, trying to push myself up and out of the way of the melted rock, but I was rooted into the ground, my hands and legs were stuck in a kneeling position as if I was glued down to the rock.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I yanked with all of my strength trying to dislodge them, but it was useless. The figure bathed in the shadows had turned around to leer down at me, grinning at the very sight of my struggling. I screamed for help when the magma ran faster down the decline, but no one could come to save me. I could already feel the hot air striking my face, the heat of the magma was so high that even the air in the vicinity of it was already singeing my arms and face. The sound of agonizing screams filled the air, and the figure’s grin grew wider until the bright glinting of its sharp teeth in the low light was visible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who are you?!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>I pleaded, barely even audible over the deafening noise bathing the cliff in chaos. The figure just smirked, having too much fun laughing at my expense to answer. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The last thing I saw before the magma swallowed me whole was the delight gleaming in the figure’s glowing scarlet eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>My eyes shot open and I gasped in terror, shooting upright and checking the woods for any sign of the darkened figure. There was nothing there outside of the normal silence and occasional gust of wind brushing through the trees of the forest. The sky had gone back to normal, the sun was still set below the horizon, and the forest was still just as green and healthy as ever. I peered down at my half-gloved hands nervously, but any hint of horrid burns or blisters had long since disappeared. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I finally let myself breathe, shutting my eyes in relief and letting myself flop back onto the rough ground. I brought my arms up to rub at my eyes in exasperation before pushing my hands back to run them through my short, choppy brown hair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It was just a dream. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I sighed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I just need to get some sleep.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But, I couldn’t. My mind was racing and my heart was beating too fast, it would be impossible for me to sleep now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I huffed, sitting up and getting to my feet. Maybe a well-needed walk would be the thing I needed to clear my mind. The light of the campfire reflected in my eyes as I tiptoed around my sister who was still curled up on her side, huddled into her thick sweatshirt with her eyes shut.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I stepped further out into the woods until the soft glow of the campsite faded into the distance and only the soft glow of the full moon was left to illuminate my path. After a while, I could hear the trickling of water moving nearby, and just behind the next few bushes was a wide, slow-rushing river running downstream.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I exhaled and walked over to sit at the edge of the bank, cupping my hands in the cool water and washing it over my face. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wiped the rest of the water off my face with my sleeve, looking up towards the night sky.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pale, vibrant face of the moon stared right back at me, the beams of its spotlight moving across the river top to fall on me and caress my skin, almost as if it had sensed my bad mood and was trying to comfort me. It finally brought a smile to my face and I exhaled contently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>At least I still have one constant left in my life now.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I gazed out at the glow reflecting off of the crystal clear waves and shifted closer to the stream until I could see my own reflection staring back at me.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The expression on my slightly tanned face was neutral, with my brows relaxed and my dark bangs falling just over my eyes. But there was something wrong with my reflection, it just didn't look quite right. Although I couldn't place it immediately, there was something that was off about it. And then I noticed it. Out of nowhere, my usually hazel gaze had disappeared- vanished with no warning- and in its place, it was instead replaced by the striking glow of a crimson red.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I screamed out loud, scrambling back away from the surface of the river and falling onto my back. I sucked in breaths much too quickly, as if air was actively being ripped out of my lungs and I was trying to save it. My vision turned black in patches as I frantically reached for my face in the desperate hope that I was just imagining what I saw, unconsciously pulling at the roots of my hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I heard an unnaturally sharp laugh sound out in the distance, audible steps coming closer and closer until they were just behind me, and my heart stopped. I twitched, slowly peering up to find a pair of bright red matching eyes right above me, glaring down at me menacingly. Those horrifying eyes were framed by none other than the same choppy auburn bangs, tan cheeks lightly speckled with freckles, and a sharp, familiar grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I cried out in anguish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It was me. </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>I</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> was the monster.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A horrified scream ripped its way up out of my throat as I thrashed my way into a sitting position, blinking away the tears that formed in my eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Kai!</span>
  </em>
  <span> What's wrong?!" I turned to find my little sister jumping up to her feet in concern as Emma came sprinting back into the campsite like death was on her heels, a look of terror gracing her green eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I blinked rapidly in confusion, shaking my head and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I tried to calm my breathing, not trusting myself enough to speak with my heart still panging in my throat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>My sister raced over, kneeling beside me to rub a hand up and down my back. I huffed, barking out a single laugh that sounded a lot more like a grunt. I rubbed a hand over my face and turned back to her with a smile on my face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm okay, just- just...a nightmare. I'm sorry if I scared you." I reassured her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her brow furrowed for a second, but she gave me a quick hug before reluctantly leaving to help Alex. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I sighed, getting to my feet and brushing the dirt of the forest floor off of my pants, staring down at my feet, disturbed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I felt a hand grab onto my shoulder, lightly rubbing out the tension in my neck, and turned to find Emma staring back at me empathetically. Clearly she had recognized just how much the dream was really weighing on me. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>She was good at that. We hadn't even known each other for quite that long, but she already knew me well enough that she could always recognize when I was bullshiting her- </span><em><span>and</span></em> <em><span>then</span></em><span> promptly call me out on it.</span></p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Damn her great intuition.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I caught her hand with a small quirk of my lips, and leaned in to give her a quick hug. She understood what I was trying to say, regardless of the nonverbal approach, and patted me on the back before leaving it alone; instead going back to pick up the twigs and branches for the campfire she had dropped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been at least two and a half weeks since we had first arrived in the Downlands, and by now we had settled into some semblance of a routine. We would get up at the crack of dawn, grab any supplies we could find nearby, walk for a few hours, set up camp when the sky got dark, and then sleep until the sun rose up again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the course of those few weeks, Alex had stayed just as whiny and sarcastic as ever, Abbie had long since warmed up to the others, and was keeping spirits high– as she did best– and Emma was finally weaning off using her white over-shirt as a makeshift sling for her bruised, dislocated shoulder; having already settled well into her role of wrangling the two preteens like a young mother figure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>We still had yet to run into anyone else, but according to what the bodiless voice had told us, there had to be at least two other 'members' of our little group we had to find. So, we had spent the majority of our time in the forest walking and searching for either an exit to the forest or for any signs of where the others might be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time I had finally finished putting out the campfire, Emma, Abbie, and Alex had returned with extra firewood and food for us to eat later, already prepared for another long day ahead of us. We finally set out deeper into the forest in what we thought was the same direction as the day before, Abbie already bouncing ahead to the front and practically dragging the still half-asleep Alex behind her. I suspiciously eyed Emma's thankfully-not-black-anymore-but-still-lightly-purple shoulder the entire way, even as she adamantly reassured me she didn't need any help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Like she would actually tell me if she did need help. She wouldn't ask for help even if her life depended on it.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I rolled my eyes at her stubbornness, only allowing just a brief moment for the small guilt at being hypocritical in the back of my head today.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had stopped truly complaining about hiking after the first few days, now only reserving it for rare occasions </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get on my nerves, which she was currently doing; leaning all her body weight on me and crying in my ear about how her legs were falling off with every step. I rolled my eyes all the way back into my head, gently shoving her off and ignoring her low giggling as she stumbled a little. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few hours, Abbie had called for us to take a break once we reached a small clearing that was actually more dirt than grass for once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>(Who died and made her the leader?)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nearly sprinted over into the middle of the clearing– the most flat part– and flopped onto the soft ground in exhaustion, a small smile of relief on her face. I strolled a little closer until I was standing just next to her, while Emma and Alex didn't even make it that far, dramatically  collapsing on the very edge of the dirt and not even moving an inch. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>I laughed, reaching down to stroke my sister's hair, endlessly entertained by the three's antics. We stayed just enjoying the silence and the time off our feet for a while, until Abbie finally sprang back up, rolling around on her sore feet and smiling exasperatedly up at me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, there was a large </span>
  <em>
    <span>boom</span>
  </em>
  <span> far out in the distance, and the ground started to rumble and quiver beneath us, pushing Abbie off-balance and dropping her to the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>An earthquake?!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Flashbacks from my nightmare flashed across my vision angrily, increasing my panic substantially.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Deep, dark holes started popping up through</span> <span>the ground around Abbie, and I finally realized too late why no grass had grown here. I quickly crossed the few steps over to her as lightly as I could, picking her up and flinging her over to safety in Emma's direction. </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <b>
    <em>KAI!</em>
  </b>
  <span>" Three loud voices cried out for me before the ground finally gave out beneath me and I disappeared under the surface. I screamed, falling deep into the pitch darkness waiting below before I finally hit something immovably hard and instantly lost consciousness.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 1 Episode 8: The Start of It All Part II</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Welcome to the end...of chapter 1!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay...so, um... I lied. This isn't the last episode of chapter 1, but in my defense the chapter ended up being over 5,000 words long, so I decided to split it up into two parts, and upload both at the same time! Sorry about that 😅. After 3 days of writing, the end of chapter 1 is finally here!</p><p>______________________________</p><p> </p><p>Please follow us at our tumblrs:</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">AwakenAiko</a></p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://demarvelbunny.tumblr.com">De_Marvel_Bunny</a></p><p> </p><p>Come send me asks and submissions! Please enjoy the series.</p><p>_____________________________</p><p> </p><p>If you have any problems with viewing any of the following, please skip this chapter! If not, you can skip or ignore these warnings. Please be safe.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter-specific tag warnings:</p><p> </p><p>Blood and injury, mention of (situational) starvation</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> Suddenly, there was a large boom far out in the distance, and the ground started to rumble and quiver beneath us, pushing Abbie off-balance and dropping her to the ground.  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> An earthquake?! Flashbacks from my nightmare flashed across my vision angrily, increasing my panic substantially. </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em>Deep, dark holes started popping up through</em> <em>the ground around Abbie, and I finally realized too late why no grass had grown here. I quickly crossed the few steps over to her as lightly as I could, picking her up and flinging her over to safety in Emma's direction. </em></p><p> </p><p><em> " </em> <b> <em>KAI!</em> </b> <em> " Three loud voices cried out for me before the ground finally gave out beneath me and I disappeared under the surface. I screamed, falling deep into the pitch darkness waiting below before I finally hit something immovably hard and instantly lost consciousness. </em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>When I finally came to, I groaned, grabbing at my throbbing head as my eyes tried to adjust to the new darkness around me. I rolled up off of what felt like smooth solid rock, cursing under my breath and jumping when the sound of my own voice started echoing around me.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> I must have fallen into a cave. Great. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>The hole I had fallen through that led to the surface was now several feet above my head; much too far for me to be able to even <em> try </em> to reach it. I was stuck in here. </p><p> </p><p>I huffed in anger, working my way to pacing a hole in the ground while yanking mercilessly at my short hair as I stressfully tried to think of another way to get out of here. Seeing as the other direction led into a dead end, I stomped further into the only open tunnel of the cave, hoping it would at least lead out into fresh air. </p><p> </p><p>However, said tunnel only seemed to loop and bend and turn in every direction conceivable, seeming a lot less like a simple path and more and more like a dead end maze.</p><p> </p><p>It seemed to go on for hours and hours without end, with no sign of getting any closer to the surface no matter how many steps I took.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p><em> I just hope Abbie and the others are doing okay without me. At this rate, I'll never get out of here. I might as well just accept my fate to live out the rest of my days as a cave gollum </em>. I huffed, simultaneously uncaring and irritated at the same time.</p><p> </p><p>But just as I was finally about to give up, I could just make out what seemed like a small gleam of sunlight peeking down into the cave in my direction. I cried out in triumph, picking up my pace and racing towards the end of the tunnel as the light got even brighter. When I finally reached the end, I was greeted by the almost glorious sight of the opening to the cave, overlooking a <em> mountain </em> of rocks piled down from the hole from what must have been the remains of another old wall of the cave. I grinned freely. I couldn't wait to go and look for the others again.</p><p> </p><p>The three of them were probably already worried sick over nothing– though Alex would never admit to it– but I trusted Emma to take care of the two firecrackers until I got back. At this point, I probably owed her, not even one, but <em> two </em> whole pineapples for all the crap I've put her through. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> At least I didn't have any real money to barter with or I wouldn't have any left at this point. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>As soon as I stepped forward to finally exit the cave though, I heard a soft noise echoing from somewhere in the corner of the tunnel.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> What the hell was that?! </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I whipped around to find the source of the noise, quickly realizing it could only have come from a small pile of rocks haphazardly dropped into the corner of the cave from a hole up above. I slowly approached the corner the rocks laid in, and nervously peered down at the mound, noticing what looked like a single piece of black cloth sticking out from underneath the rocks. I stepped even closer, trying to make out exactly what the cloth was, and what it was doing there.</p><p> </p><p>The noise sounded up again, this time even quieter than before, but I could still hear it loud and clear. </p><p> </p><p>It was a groan.</p><p> </p><p>The cloth moved, shifting slightly, starting to dip in and then weakly pushing back up, causing some of the lighter rocks over it to shift and fall over on the cave floor. It almost looked like- it looked like <em> breathing </em>.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh god. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p><em> It was a body that was stuck under the rocks. </em> </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>My eyes blew open wide and I scrambled over towards the pile, frantically pushing and throwing the heavy rocks off the body below, uncovering more of the cloth– which I soon realized was a jacket– as well as a pair of arms and legs and a head.</p><p> </p><p>When I had moved all the rocks out of the way, I turned the body over in my arms, cradling their neck and holding my head to their chest, listening intensely. Their heartbeat was at least steady, and they were thankfully still breathing, but very slowly. I leaned back, taking a look over at them and inhaled sharply, feeling as if someone had sucker punched all the air out of my chest all at once.</p><p> </p><p>Laying limply in my arms before me was a young boy about my age, with tame, straight short black hair falling just a little below his chin, and one side of bangs covering half of his closed eyes. He had a smooth, round face and almost deathly pale skin, only accented by a small scatter of freckles across his nose. He had on a warm outfit with a black denim jacket wrapped over a dark blue t-shirt and dark jeans with black boots. His face and hands were lightly scraped and scratched up from his fall into the cave, but most concerning of all was the small contusion left at the top of his temple, still lightly bleeding down the side of his face. </p><p> </p><p>I lifted him up in my arms– quite shocked at how little he actually weighed– and raced down out of the opening of the cave, careful not to jostle the black-haired boy on my way down the small hill of boulders. </p><p> </p><p>When I reached the bottom, I gently placed the other boy down on the ground, taking off my red over-shirt and balling it up to try and place pressure against his head wound, feeling a little apologetic as the unconscious boy naturally recoiled away from the pain.</p><p> </p><p><em> Please don't have a concussion, please don't have a concussion, oh please god don't have a concussion </em>– I stopped myself there before I could get too distracted. The pale boy was still stock still, not moving a single muscle other than to turn his head away from my touch. </p><p> </p><p>It must've stayed that way for at least half an hour before the boy finally stirred, still shying away from the cloth against his head as his eyes finally fluttered open, revealing a weary set of the most ocean-like dark blue eyes I had ever seen. He blinked slowly, mutely taking in his new surroundings in clear confusion before his gaze finally settled over to me. He inhaled sharply, a gasp catching in his throat almost like he had wanted to scream–but couldn't– and quickly scrambled away to put some distance between the two of us.</p><p> </p><p>I cringed back empathetically, dropping my shirt and raising my empty hands up towards him, backing up a little. "Hey, woah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I called out to him with a soft, quiet tone.</p><p> </p><p>The disturbance reflecting in his eyes only seemed to grow at that and he crawled back even further, muttering something unintelligible under his breath. He pulled his knees up close to his chest and barely even dared himself to blink, staring at me warily like I was a 'Free Candy' van parked on the side of the road.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>"Are you okay?" He only glared back at me, a grimace gracing his face. Confused, I tried another route, tapping against the corner of my head and pointing back at him. "Your head? I just wanted to know if you were okay."</p><p> </p><p>He blinked, rubbing a hand against his head, his hand coming away with a small streak of fresh blood on his fingers. A small look of realization flashed over his face for a second before quickly disappearing. He shook his head once, muttering something lowly that sounded a lot like "<em> Daijyōbu </em>".</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh.  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>Oh.</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em> He doesn't speak English. </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I slapped my hand against my forehead, facepalming at my own idiocy. I sighed, turning back to the pale boy, trying another method, and pointed at myself. "My name is Kai." I pointed back at him. "What's your's?"</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head at me again, seeming to narrow his eyes at my stupidity, and I resisted the urge to facepalm once again. "It doesn't have to be your real one, I mean!" I quickly added, realizing I forgot to mention it.</p><p> </p><p>He stared deeply into my eyes, almost unsettlingly, for a few moments; probably just trying to decipher through what I had said. He seemed to mull it over though, and after deep thought, finally responded, "Akiro" in probably the loudest voice I had heard him use so far, pointing at himself. I nodded, deciding to leave it at that, and weakly motioned for him to stand up as I did myself.</p><p> </p><p>He struggled up to his feet, but it was clear he didn't want my help from the several feet of distance he had placed between us. He wiped the remainder of the blood off his face with his sleeve and stared out into the distance of the forest. </p><p> </p><p>All of a sudden, he gasped and his eyes popped open wide like he had only just remembered something important, and he took off running towards the hill connected to the opening in the cave. He didn't spare me another glance, but quietly shouted something along the lines of "<em> Ore no itoko! </em>" as if that explained his weird actions. </p><p> </p><p>He seemed a little frantic, almost panicking as he struggled to climb up the hill, acting almost as if he might have lost something important.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p><em>Or maybe, </em><b><em>someone</em></b> <em>important.</em></p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>I rushed to keep up with him– the boy was actually <em> surprisingly </em> fast for someone who had mostly likely just gotten mildly <em> concussed </em>– and followed him up the hill. He only slowed down slightly before he finally noticed me lagging behind out of the corner of his eye, stopping for a moment to consider his options. He stared back at me, conflicted, before shaking his head, ultimately making his mind up about something unknown to me.</p><p> </p><p>He rolled his eyes at my heavy breathing, lightly grabbing and pulling on my wrist, moving me in front of him and pushing me forward by my shoulders. I almost felt affronted, but what actually came out of my mouth instead was a perplexed laugh.</p><p> </p><p>He kept pace with me from then on, until we finally reached the top of the hill, coming to a careful stop a few feet from a deep hole in the soil. Upon closer look, it looked like the hole lead all the way down into the cave we had just come from.</p><p> </p><p><em> This must have been where he fell in </em>.</p><p>
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</p><p>The blue-eyed boy huffed silently behind me, pacing the shallow area surrounding the hole back and forth, clearly unable to find whatever it was that he was looking for.</p><p>
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</p><p>"Was there someone else here with you?" I tried, drawing his blinking gaze back towards me. It seemed to just go over his head though, as he just stared at me impassively, but after a long moment, he finally nodded, pointing over at the ground next to me and shrugging pointedly, emphasising the nonverbal "<em> they were right there when I left, I don't know where they went". </em></p><p> </p><p>"Well, I'm sure they can't be far." I smiled in his direction, uselessly trying to reassure him. He sighed exasperatedly, looking like he was barely refraining himself from banging his head against the nearest tree in frustration. This time, I decided to take the lead as we walked, grabbing onto his wrist and pulling him along, not noticing him trying to flinch away from my grasp.</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the trip was uncharacteristically quiet compared to the ones I was used to with the others, even with Akiro's occasional incomprehensible mummering in what <em> sounded </em> like Japanese. </p><p> </p><p>I laughed internally for a moment. <em> At least he doesn't complain like the others. </em> I blinked, cutting that thought off short, before laughing even harder at another that popped into my head, an external smile forming on my face against my better judgement. <em> Or maybe he actually is, and I just can't understand it </em>.</p><p>
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</p><p>After another few hours spent trekking aimlessly through the greenery, I noticed the layout and colors of the trees, grass, moss, and rocks around us start to fill out a landscape that was familiar to me. I had definitely been here before. </p><p>
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</p><p>I mentally counted off everything I remembered seeing before. <em> There's that tree with the weird gash in it, and that one cracked rock, and- </em></p><p> </p><p>I blinked in shock. We had finally made it back to the dirt clearing the others and I had rested in earlier that morning. I smiled widely, trying not to laugh at the look of utter confusion painted across Akiro's face as I led him further into the clearing.</p><p> </p><p>We warily avoided the holes still poking up through the ground to the caves, and soon enough I could see three sets of footsteps leading out into the forest.</p><p> </p><p>I waved at the other boy to follow me, and we followed the tracks until the quiet sound of talking finally reached my ears. I grinned, running faster through the trees towards the sound of the voices until we could see the light of a campfire in view.</p><p> </p><p>Huddled around the campfire in the distance, I could see Abbie resting her head on Emma's good shoulder, one of the blonde's arms wrapped tightly around her, and the other resting just on Alex's back next to her. Sitting just across from them, there was now a new member warming up near the embers of the flames, soaking up the well-needed warmth.</p><p> </p><p>The new boy's face was almost the spitting image of Akiro's, the only immediately noticeable differences being his shorter, spikier hair and different outfit instead consisting of a green windbreaker over a white shirt, plus black jeans and white sneakers. </p><p> </p><p>I walked further into the campsite, accidentally stepping on and snapping a twig below my foot, immediately drawing the attention of the other four in front of me.</p><p> </p><p>"<em> Kai! </em>" My sister instantly lit up, jumping up out of Emma's hold and running to tackle me in a hug.</p><p> </p><p>Emma grinned back at me, before coming over to smack me over the head. Pointing a single slender finger in my face, she sent a death glare in my direction. "Don't <em> ever </em> do that again, got it?" I cringed, rubbing at my already sore head and chuckling. "Yeah, okay, fair." I surrendered. </p><p> </p><p>Alex sniffed quietly, weakly punching me in the side with a quirky smile on his face. "Do you know how long we had to look for you? My legs almost turned into noodles because of you!" I smirked back at him, ruffling his unruly hair. "Yeah, I missed you too buddy."</p><p> </p><p>"<em> Akiro! </em>" I blinked over at the noise, noticing the unnamed boy shoot up, his discouraged frown moving up into a sweet grin as he crossed the distance and enveloped the paler boy in a bear hug, which was promptly returned, even if his hold was a little lighter.</p><p> </p><p>Emma easily followed my glance and piped up helpfully. "That's Kazuki. We ran into him a couple hours ago while we were trying to find you and he was also searching for his cousin after you had both disappeared into thin air." </p><p>
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</p><p>I nodded, almost in disbelief that these two boys had been trying to survive by themselves for over half a month. They looked so <em> exhausted </em> and <em> hungry </em>.</p><p>
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</p><p>I glanced at the other three and then blinked back to the dark-haired pair, a soft, genuine smile playing on my lips for once.</p><p>
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</p><p><em> Well, now they have us, too </em>.</p><p>
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</p><p>Little did I know, as the sun began to set behind the clouds and the six of us settled around the campsite, that this night would be the one that changed my life forever.</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Author's Note</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hello everyone, </p><p>This is just a quick update on the story and it's progression. </p><p>I recently got another beta reader, who is going to be helping me with editing and the story as a whole. It was her recommendation that I hold off on releasing more of the story until I have written more chapters, so I will not be publishing any more updates for awhile. You can consider this a hiatus announcement of sorts, but I will do my best to add more chapters as soon as possible, so there will be no wait for the next chapter anymore. I will be leaving the prologue and the first eight chapters up, but I may later decide to rewrite them as the story progresses. Thank you for all your support on the story so far, I will do my best to make this story worthy of all of it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://awakenaiko.tumblr.com">My Tumblr</a>
</p></blockquote></div></div>
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